Painting Love
by forever-missing-him
Summary: What if Eric had been from Abnegation, and he and Tris fell in love? What would happen when Tris transfers to Dauntless, and reunites with Eric after two years? How different would things be? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

I wipe my hands against my gray slacks as I stand in anticipation; only four people are in front of me.

I still did not know what I was going to chose. Dauntless or Abnegation? Bravery or Selflessness? I am nervous about what my father was going to think about my decision if I chose Dauntless. Would he be mad? Would he resent me, disown me even? Or would he be kind and supportive of me no matter what choice I make, like my mother? I don't know; I don't know; I don't know.

Even though I was most definitely not looking forward to many things today, there was one thing I was looking forward to.

And that thing was to see _him_ again.

His name is Eric. He was Erudite born, but his family secretly moved to the Abnegation faction without anyone knowing when Eric was only eight. By that age, he was extremely intelligent; most of the younger children in Erudite at the time were particulary smart.

His family moved into the house right next to the one marked with the last name 'Prior' on the mailbox. Quickly, Eric and I became the best of friends. He's two years older than I am. We were one in the same; we weren't selfless enough. Our pride showed in the way we held ourselves; the way we walked, the way we talked. We both knew we belonged somewhere else. When I was twelve, I had developed feelings for him. I brushed it off as infatuation, but I found that it was more than infatuation when the feelings didn't fade. His feelings were mutual. By the time I was thirteen and he was fifteen, both of us had already admitted our feelings for one another, and began dating secretly. A year later, however, he turned sixteen.

And we had to say goodbye when he chose Dauntless.

For the past two years, we've been keeping in touch through a phone that he had gotten me for my birthday that my parents didn't know about.

I am snapped out of my thoughts when I hear my brother's name called out.

"Caleb Prior!"

He turned to smile nervously to me before walking up to the stage.

I watched in shock as he swiped the knife over his palm and the crimson red blood falls into the already dark red water.

Of course he chose Erudite. How could I have not noticed?

"Beatrice Prior!" Marcus's voice calls out.

I wipe my palms against my grey slacks yet again before shakily walking up to the stage. A knife is given to me, and I stand in front of the five bowls.

Abnegation. Selflessness. Stones.

Dauntless. Bravery. Coals.

Mother and Father, or Eric?

Faction before blood.

Dauntless fire and Abnegation stones are both to my left, one in front of my shoulder and one behind. I hold the knife in my right hand and touch the blade to my palm. Gritting my teeth, I drag the blade down. It stinggs, but I barely notice. My heart is pounding in my ears. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

When I open my eyes again, the answer is clear to me. I thrust my hand out and watch as my blood sizzles on the coals.

I am selfish. I am brave.

After I chose the Dauntless, a gasp emitted from the crowd of gray.

_I'm sorry._

I walk over to the crowd of Dauntless and stand in the sea of black.

I look over to Caleb to see him smiling proudly at me. I smile back.

When everyone has chosen, the Dauntless whoop and cheer and begin to walk out of the room.

I set my jaw and tilt my chin up as I walk past the people dressed in gray.

I look over my shoulder to look at my parents one last time to see that my father's hard stare was already burning into the back of my head with a look of accusation and resentment. Beside him, my mother is smiling and nodding at me in a subtle manner. I take a deep breath and turn my head back to the people dressed in black that were now my fellow faction members.

They break into a sprint and run down the flights of stairs, some just deciding to jump over the railing. I run along with them, catching up easily. It was absolutely refreshing to do anything athletic for once, to feel the wind blowing in my face.

My face visibly pales when I see that a train was coming towards us, closer and closer.

"Oh no," and Erudite boy whispers next to me. "Are we supposed to hop onto that thing?"

"Yes," I say, breathless.

I study the other Dauntless and watch them hop onto a train.

I mimic their actions, running along the side of the train and grabbing onto the handle of the train. I am about to fall off when a hand reaches out and pulls me into the moving train.

"Thanks," I say to the Candor girl with dark brown skin and short brown hair that helped me in.

"You all right?" she asks me.

I nod.

"I'm Christina," she says, offering me her hand.

"Beatrice."

We make small talk for a while before we stop talking.

Immediately, I think of my parents. It's Caleb's turn to make dinner tonight. Who would take his place― my mother or my father? And what will they find when they clear out his room? I imagine a pile of books jammed between the dresser and the wall, even under his mattress. I close my eyes and try to picture my mother and father sitting at the dinner table in silence. Is it a lingering hint of selflessness that makes my throat tighten at the thought of them, or is it selfishness, because I know I will never be their daughter again?

* * *

"They're jumping off!"

I lift my head to see several Dauntless born jump out of the train and onto the roof of a building several stories high. I push myself up and to the opposite side of the train, where the other transfers stand in a line.

Christina hold out her hand when it's our time to jump.

I am about to reject it when she speaks up.

"I just.. Can't do it unless someone drags me," she says, looking a little desperate.

I shrug and hold onto her hand.

"One.. Two.. Three!" I count out loud, and fling myself out of the train and down onto the building. I release Christina's hand when we make it, and laugh along with her. My heart speeds up at the thought that I'm now closer to Eric.

"That was fun," she says.

Christina and I get up and onto our feet as the other transfers hop out of the train in varying levels of success. Everyone makes it safely onto the roof except one boy from Amity and one girl― a Dauntless born.

A girl named Rita wails in the back and cries for her sister's life as a Dauntless leader speaks up, projecting his voice.

"Listen up! My name is Max! I am one of the leaders of your new faction! Several stories below us is the members' entrance to our compound. If you can't muster up the courage to jump off, you don't belong here. Our initiates have the privilege of going first."

"You want us to jump off a _ledge_?" asks a small Erudite girl with mousy brown hair.

"Yes," Max answers nonchalantly, an amused glint in his eyes.

"Is there water at the bottom or something?"

"Who knows?" he shrugs.

I am proud. It will get me into trouble someday, but today it makes me brave. I step forward as the crowd splits into transfers and Dauntless borns; I hear snickers behind me.

I don't think. I just bend my knees and jump. I land on a net with an _oof_, and roll off of it absentmindedly. If he hadn't caught me, I would've landed face-first into a wooden floor. The skin on his arms are hard and rough, but warm. I look up to see the bluest eyes I've ever seen. He places me down onto the floor and shoves his hands into his pockets.

"Thank you," I say.

"Can't believe it.." A voice mutters behind me. I turn around to see a dark haired girl with three silver rings pierced into her right eyebrow. She smirks at me. "A Stiff.. The first to jump? Unheard of."

I glare at her and I'm about to back talk her when the boy who caught me speaks up.

"There's a reason why she left them, Lauren." He narrows his eyes at her. He turns to me. "What's your name?"

I hesitate for a moment. "Um.."

"Think about it," he says, a faint smile curling his lips. "You don't get to pick again."

I contemplate for a moment before answering. "Tris," I say firmly, determinedly.

"Tris," Lauren repeats, grinning. "Make the announcement, Four."

The boy―Four― looks over his shoulder and shouts, "First jumper―Tris!"

A crowd appears from the darkness as my eyes adjust. They shout and cheer and pump their fists in the air. Their cheers grow louder as I hear Christina screaming on her way down here and then a _thud_. The crowd laughs, but they follow their laughter with more cheering. To the left, I spot a boy with brown-blonde hair―that was probably recently trimmed― and gelled upward into spikes. He's leaning against the wall, dressed in a black wife beater, a black leather jacket, black jeans, and black sneakers. There is stubble on his chin, and his hands are in his pockets. Our eyes meet, and blue clashes against green. He smiles at me, and I smile back. I turn around when I hear Four's voice and feel his arm on the small of my back.

"Welcome to Dauntless."

* * *

When all the initiates stand on solid ground again, Lauren and Four lead us down a narrow tunnel. As I pass Eric, our hands graze subtly and he whispers, "I'll find you later."

I nod and smile to him before walking with my group.

After getting introduced to the Pit and the Chasm, we head towards the dining hall.

Christina and I walk over to an empty table in the corner of the room after getting our food and sit down. Christina sits down in front of me. Not a second later, Four slides his tray down on the table and sits down next to the right of me.

I stare down at my food and raise my eyebrows, unsure of what it is. Before I can ask, Four nudges me with his elbow.

"It's beef," he says. "Put this on it." He hands me a packet full of red sauce that I later learn is ketchup.

"You've never had a hamburger before?" asks Christina, her eyes wide.

"Nope," I reply. "Is that what it's called?"

"Stiffs eat plain food," Four tells Christina.

"Why?" she asks?

I shrug. "Extravagance is considered self-indulgent and unneccessary."

She smirks. "No wonder you left."

"Yeah," I say, rolling my eyes. "It was just because of the food."

Christina bursts into laughter and the corners of Four's mouth twitches involuntarily.

All of a sudden, the doors to the cafeteria open, and a hush falls over the room. I look over my shoulder to see who it is when I see a familiar flash of brown-blonde hair.

"Who's that?" Christina whispers.

"Eric. He's one of the Dauntless leaders," Four replies, and I can hear a hint of disdain in his voice.

"Seriously? But he's so young."

"Age doesn't matter here."

Eric's eyes scan the tables for a fleeting moment before resting on my table, or more specifically, me. He walks over towards me, and sits down on my left.

"Aren't you going to introduce me?" he asks Four, staring at me. Underneath the table, his hand finds mine.

"This is Eric. He's going to train you guys with me. Eric, this is Tris," Four says coldly, making Eric roll his eyes,"and this is Christina." He points over to her. She smiles nervously and waves awkwardly to Eric. "

Eric's eyes flick over to her for a brief second before they're on me again.

"Tris, huh?" he asks, smiling at me. He and I both know that we can't make our relationship known to the public. It would make people think my score in initiation are based out of favoritism. "I'll keep an eye on you," he says to me. He winks and half smiles to me before walking away.

"What was_ that _about?" Christina asks, raising her eyebrows. "Did you see that? He _winked_ at you! He _totally_ likes you!" She squeals.

Four visibly stiffens because who-knows-why, and gets up to go over to sit with his friends.

"What's wrong with him?" Christina asks.

* * *

After dinner, Four disappears without a word.

Eric leads us through a series of dark hallways lit with blue lights hanging on the ceiling without telling us where we're going. I walk up to him and hold his hand, deciding that no one would see since its' extremely dark in the hallway. I lean in towards him and I catch the scent of his cologne.

He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me even closer to him, and kisses the top of my head affectionately, emitting a sigh from my lips. I'm disappointed when he draws his hand back towards his side and steps away because up ahead, a bright light is shining behind closed wooden double doors. He stops and crosses his arms, leaning against the door and scanning the group.

"For those of you who don't know, my name is Eric," he says. "I am one of three leaders of Dauntless. We take the initiation process very seriously here, so I volunteered to oversee most of your training." His eyes stay on my face for a moment, and his flicker to mine. They stay there for a moment before his eyes move down to my lips. He licks his own for a second and then continues. "Some ground rules. You have to be in the training room by eight o' clock every day. Training takes place everyday from eight to six, with a break for lunch. You are free to do whatever you like after six. You will also get some time off between every stage of initiation. You are only permitted to leave the compound when accompanied by a Dauntless. Behind this door is the room where you will be sleeping for the next few weeks. You will notice that there are ten beds and only nine of you. We anticipated that a higher proportion of you would make it this far. Curfew is at 10 o' clock."

He continues with his speech, with Christina interrupting occasionally, and he pushes the door to the dormitory open to reveal the bright lights.

Each of us file in, me being the last. As I pass, Eric whispers, "Meet me out here a nine-thirty," and he closes the door. I sigh happily and move to the bunk bed Christina and I share. I get bottom, she gets top. I open the drawer to the nightstand next to my bunk and take out the clothes the Dauntless had provided. I change into a black t-shirt and black shorts.

I lie in bed and listen to eight other people breathing after an hour of hearing their cries. I look at the digital clock on the nightstand.

9:29.

I sit up and put on my slippers, heading towards the door after getting some extra clothes, since I think that I'll be sleeping over. When I open it, I see that Eric is already there. When he sees me, he walks forward and pulls me into his arms, encasing me in warmth. I rest my head against his chest and close my eyes, savoring the moment. When I open them again and look up to Eric's face, he dips his head downwards, I stand on my toes, and our lips crash against one another's.

We each fight for dominance, our tongues twisting. When he picks me up and places his hand under my thighs to support me, I wrap my legs around his waist. He bites my lower lip gently, making me groan.

When we both need to catch our breaths, we pull apart and pant. I lean my forehead against his, and grin at him.

"I've missed you, Tris," he says, still breathless.

"Ditto," I reply, giving him a chaste peck on the lips.

He smiles widely and sets me down again, only to pick me back up once more to give me a piggyback ride.

As he starts to walk, I wrap my around his shoulders. "Where are we going, Eric?"

"To my apartment."

He keeps on walking until we reach an apartment labeled with 'Eric D. 107' When I look to the left, I see that his neighbor is Four.

Eric fishes the key out of his pocket and unlocks the door, places me down on the bed, and goes back to lock the door.

I take off my slippers and slip under the covers, waiting for him while he gets into his sleep wear in the bathroom. A minute later, he comes back in and sits down next to me. Missing his touch, I move over and sit in his lap, leaning my back against his chest. I sigh contently as he wraps his arms around me.

We then find ourselves talking about the many events that happened throughout the two years that we've been away from each other. We hold hands the entire time, and about an hour later, I fall asleep in his arms. I faintly hear him whisper, "Good night, Tris. I love you," and he kisses the top of my forehead before I'm asleep.

* * *

**Should I continue or not? Read & review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and alerted my story! You guys are awesome! And to those who are saying, "Why would you write something like this?" etc., why _wouldn't _I write this? Tobias/Four x Tris is overrated. It's all the same; it's boring and everything is expected. (No, I'm not trashing Fourtris. I love them, but it's nice to explore Eric x Tris, you know?)**** It's simple. Don't like, don't read.**

* * *

When I wake up the next morning, I see that Eric is up and putting on a black hoodie and a black leather jacket over it.

"Good morning, beautiful." He says, walking over and giving me a chaste, sweet kiss.

"What time is it?" I ask, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

He checks the digital clock on the drawer that I didn't notice. "Seven twenty-six. I suggest you get up and get ready for the day, Tris."

I nod and get up, going into the bathroom to brush my teeth and change into the clothes I brought with me last night: a baggy black t-shirt, black jeans, and black sneakers. I let my blonde hair fall out of the pristine Abnegation bun that I slept in and just simply braided it to the side.

When I emerge from the bathroom, Eric is standing there, waiting for me with his keys in hand.

"You ready, Tris?" he aks, playing with his keys.

I nod and kiss him for a good forty seconds before pulling back and smiling at him. It'll probably be the last kiss we share for the day.

"I'll get out first, seeing you have the key."

"Good idea."

I'm walking toward the door, about to turn the handle when Eric speaks up. "Oh, and Tris?" I spin around and raise my eyebrows. "You look good." He smirks and throws an extra key to his apartment and a muffin to me. I smile back at him and exit the door.

As I'm walking away from his apartment, I hear a voice behind me.

"Tris?"

I turn around to see Four staring at me, curiousity in his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" he asks, crossing his arms.

"Oh! Uh," I think of a lie. "I was wandering around, looking for the training room and I kinda just wound up here.." I mutter. Lying comes so naturally to me; I am obviously not fit for Candor.

"Oh, alright. Here, I'll walk you to the training―"

The door to Eric's apartment opens and he stops mid-step when he sees Four and I.

"Tris, what are you doing here?" he asks tentatively.

"I was just about to leave, actually. I kind of was looking for the training room and wound up here.."

He nods and his eyes flicker from me to Four, and then back to me.

"Stupid girl." He fakes a scoff and walks up to me. He motions with his head to follow him. I bite my lip and nod, following behind him to the training room.

When we get there, it's already 8:03.

Eric walks over to the corner and folds his arms, leaning against a wall and watching everything from afar.

"Okay, initiates! The first thing you'll be learning today is how to shoot a gun. The second thing is how to fight." Four presses a gun into my hand without looking and keeps walking. "Thankfully, if you are here, you already know how to get on and off a moving train, so I don't need to teach you that."

I could hear Eric snort at the back of the room, making me crack a small smile.

Four rolls his eyes and continues. "Initiation is divided into three stages. We will measure your progress and rank you in your performance in each stage. The stages are not weighed equally in determining your final rank, so it is possible, though difficult, to drastically improve your rank over time."

I ignore the rest of what he says, but I zone back in when Four starts to demonstrate how to handle a gun.

After studying his moves, I turn to my own target. I fire several times, but none of the bullets come close to hitting the target.

"Statistically speaking," the Erudite boy next to me― his name is Will― says, grinning at me, "you should have hit the target at least once by now, even by accident." He is blonde, with shaggy hair and a crease between his eyebrows.

"Is that so?" I say without inflection.

"Yeah," he replies, "I think you're actually defying nature."

I grit my teeth and set my jaw. I turn back to my target and aim, then squeeze the trigger hard. A bullet hits the ring second nearest to the center, and I smile smugly at Will.

"So you see, I'm right. The stats don't lie," he says, grinning at me.

* * *

By the time lunch break comes around, my arm is throbbing from holding up the gun and my fingers are hard to straighten. I massage them on my way to the dining hall. Christina invites Al to sit with us. I move my peas around with my fork as I think about my aptitude test results.

Divergent.

What would happen if someone found out? Would they kill me? Or would they be helpful, like Tori?

I blink my eyes when Christina snaps her fingers in my face. "Tris! Tris, you in there?"

"Oh, sorry."

"It's fine! So anyways, I was―" Christina is cut off when Will walks over with his lunch tray.

"Can I sit here?"

"What, you don't want to hang out with your Erudite buddies?" Christina sneers.

"They aren't my buddies. Just because we're in the same faction doesn't mean we get along. Plus, Edward and Myra are dating, and I would rather not be the third wheel."

At the mention of dating, I look over my shoulder to look for Eric. Instead, I catch Four's stare and furrow my eyebrows before looking away, blushing. Why was he staring at me?

Then, I feel a pair of arms resting on the back of my chair. I turn around to see Eric smirking down at me. He then looks at the others. "Initiates, it's time to get back to the training room."

* * *

As I practice fighting techniques on the punching bag, Four walks up to me and watches as I punch and kick. The punching bag barely moved, but at least it was something.

He stood there and stared for about a minute until he stopped me by placing his hand on my back.

"Tris," he says, his eyes raking over my body― not in the perverted way― looking for muscle. At the back of the room, I hear Eric make a low grunting sound and feel his eyes on Four and I. Unaware of Eric's stare, Four places his hand on my stomach. In the corner of my eye, I can see Eric clenching his fists. "You have no muscle; you're better off using your elbows and knees," is all he says before he quickly walks away. I take his advice and start hitting the punching bag with my elbows and knees to see that the bag now moves back farther than when I used my fist and feet.

After training and dinner was over, Christina, Al, Will, and I stand in a circle.

"Hey! Tris and I are going to go shopping. We'll meet you two in an hour at the tattoo parlor, okay?" Christina says to Al and Will. We had all decided to get tattoos together.

Except for Will, of course.

Christina and I start walking towards the pit when I speak up.

"What's wrong with my clothes? I'm not even wearing gray anymore," I furrow my eyebrows.

"They're ugly and gigantic." Christina wrinkles her nose. "Will you just let me help you? If you don't like what I put you in, you'll never have to wear it again, I promise.

Ten minutes later, I stand in front of a body-length mirror in a clothing place wearing a sleveless black lace dress that is about three inches above my knees. The lace dress has a black covering inside, so I don't have to wear a tank top inside. The covering, however, doesn't cover the top part of my neck or the area in betweeen my breasts and stomach, so only the lace is covering that patch of skin. Christina had also applied light makeup on my face: light winged eyeliner on my top lashline, mascara, and light coral blush.

I stand shocked, ogling at myself. I imagine myself standing in front of my parents looking like this, and my stomach twists like I might be sick. The dress is showing off a lot of skin, and hugs to my body so that is shows off the curves that my mother had made me hide all these years by wearing baggy clothes.

Christina whistles. "Do you like it? You're beautiful!"

I smile at her in the mirror and nod my head. "Thanks, Christina." I turn around and hug her.

After purchasing clothes and makeup, Christina and I walk over to the tattoo parlor to see that Al and Will are already there. Al is already sitting down on a chair, a man drawing a spider on his shoulder. Christina and Will flip through a book of tattoo drawings, nudging each other when they find good ones.

Right then and there, Tori walks in. She stops in her tracks when she sees me, and smiles.

"Hey! Beatrice, is it?"

"Tris, actually."

"Well, then, hey Tris! Do you want a tattoo?"

I contemplate about it for a moment, looking around the shop until I see a sketch of a bird.

I turn to Tori and smile."Yes," I say. "Three of these flying birds," I touch the area of my collarbone, marking the path of their flight― towards my heart. One for each family member I left behind.

* * *

The next morning, I wake up to Christina nudging my arm.

I check the clock for the time.

_6:58_.

"Christina! Why are you waking me up? We have one more hour until training!" I whisper.

"I know, but you need to get up and showering if you want to wear your new clothes!" She squeals excitedly.

"What? Christina, it's _training_. I could show up in my pajamas, for all I care!"

Christina sends me a look. "Get up and go shower. _Now,_" she demands in an authorative voice. I groan and get up. There's no winning when it comes to her.

So I go shower and throw on the clothes Christina got me yesterday: a tight tank top that also shows off the curves and my new tattoo, black skinny jeans, and black lace-up combat boots. I put on the eyeliner, mascara, and blush like Christina did yesterday, and I look in the mirror and stare at myself. This girl isn't Beatrice anymore, no; this girl is Tris Prior. And she was Dauntless.

When I walk out of the bathroom, the others are starting to wake up. Christina and I, however, are already ready. I check the time to see that it's 7:49.

After eating a muffin, Christina and I stroll down to the training room. By the time we get there, it's 7:58.

I open the double doors to see that Four and Eric are already inside, tensely standing there and having a silent stare down. The tension is so thick that you could cut it with a knife.

Four clears his throat and looks down at his shoes while Eric leans back against the wall with his hands in his pockets (as usual) when Christina and I walk in.

The four of us stand there in awkward silence until a minute later when the others burst through the doors.

Four finally stops staring at his shoes and starts walking over to a large board leaning against the wall.

"Today is fighting day. Since there is an odd amount of you, one of you won't be fighting today. Here are your opponents," he says before flipping the board around to reveal the names.

Peter VS Drew

Christina VS Edward

Al VS Myra

Molly VS Will

I take my eyes off from the board and turn around when I hear a wolf whistle. I come face to face with Peter, who stares at me in a sexual way.

"Damn!" he says. "Did the Stiff get implants over night or something? The things I'd do to you.." He whispers the last sentence, but everyone still hears. He surges forward, and pushes me against the wall. I can see Eric clenching his fists, starting to walk forward when Four walks up and punches Peter in the face.

Peter bends down at the waist, groaning. Eric takes this moment to grab him by the collar and shoving him up against the wall, his feet dangling in the air. He looked murderous.

"What the hell?! What the fuck is this for?" Peter yells out.

Eric's eyes flick to me for a second before focusing back on Peter. "What this is for? I'm not sure about him," Eric points at Four, "but you just got punched in the face, and you just stood there, holding your damned face! Let me ask you one question, Peter.." he paused, grinning nonchalantly as if nothing had just happened. "Do you think you belong with the Dauntless?"

"Of course I do," Peter repliess confidently.

"Then _act_ like it," Eric growls, throwing Peter onto the hard floor before casually walking back to his corner.

* * *

After training, I walked over to Eric and stared up at him.

"Thank you," I whisper to him, moving into his arms.

"Yeah, well, it's what I'm supposed to do when my girlfriend gets hit on by a guy that isn't me," he mutters.

I laugh into his chest, and pull back just a little bit to see his face when he says, "What? What's so funny, huh?"

"Its just.. You're adorable when you're jealous, you know that?" I smile widely and watch as blush creeps up onto his cheeks.

"Whatever.." he says under his breath, making me chuckle again.

* * *

**Sorry this is slow. I swear it's going to get interesting. I'm deciding to skip some time, all the way to the overall Dauntless ranking reveal, what do you say? Because if I do skip, the juicy scenes will be coming up reaaal soon. Everything between Four and Tris will have happened, for example, them going through Four's fear landscape, the whole Tris-getting-saved-by-Four thing still happened, etc. What do you think? Tell me in your reviews! c:**


	3. Chapter 3

**Time skip. Sorry. The training and everything went the same, so I didn't see a reason why I should insert that in. Enjoy, my frans.**

* * *

Tris was exhausted, both physically and mentally. The past few days have been a_ bit _too much for her. Eric had woken everyone up early in the morning to play paintball in the _freakin' _dark last week. Four had chosen her for his team, and they had had a scene up on the ferris wheel. Plus, Peter had been flirting with her every single day since that one time in the training room. Apparently, a warning from Eric wasn't enough to scare him. Eric had been resisting the urge to punch him in the face, and he still is. The third stage had drained a lot of energy from her, and she was glad that the day after today was the day of the banquet and ranking announcement.

She found out that her mother had once been from Dauntless, Natalie Prior had once roamed this underground compound. Her mother had even found out that her daughter was divergent, and had instructed her to go visit her brother when she can and tell him to study the simulation serum.

To add on even more to the stress she was feeling, she and Four had a moment while sitting on the jagged rocks of the Chasm. He had showed her his fear lanscape, and then took her to sit on some damned rocks to tell her his real name and _attempt_ to kiss her over the rush of the water.

Cheesy ass prick.

* * *

It was the day after the banquet; it was the day after I was announced to be the Abnegation girl who ranked first in the Dauntless initiation. I was first, and to say that I was proud was an understatement.

I was walking toward my usual table in the cafeteria, where everyone was already sitting, when I feel an arm wrap around my waist from behind.

"Hey, Tris," a smooth voice whispers into my ear, and then I feel soft lips press against my cheek.

Before Eric's lips could touch my cheek, however, I turn my face around, and his lips find mine. We're interrupted when we hear gasps all around us, and I remember that no one knew about our relationship.

Heat rushes to my cheeks. When I feel eyes burning into the back of my head, I turn toward the stare and find that it belongs to Four.

I hold his gaze for a few moments before I purse my lips and look away.

"Come on, Tris," Eric whispers into my ear and grabs my hand, walking me over to my usual table. Christina and Will are staring at us and our linked hands, open-mouthed. So are the rest of the members of Dauntless.

All is quiet for a few devastatingly long seconds, and then everyone erupts into cheers. Eric smiles genuinely for the first time in front of the other members, and kisses me on the cheek.

I'm too busy being bombarded with questions by Christina, Will, Lynn, Marlene, and Uriah, too distracted by the surprised whispers to hear the door to the cafeteria slam close, or to notice that Four's usual chair is empty.

* * *

After lunch, I was finally convinced by Eric to become a Dauntless leader. I was excited, seeing that it was an opportunity to spend more time alongside Eric. I'm supposed to start taking full charge tomorrow.

Seeing that I had nothing to do, I roamed around the Pit. Christina and Will were spending time together, Eric had to work something out with Max, and Lynn, Marlene, and Uriah had disappeared into thin air. I decided to get more clothes and jewelry, precisely ones that would make Christina proud (because she would just throw the clothes I bought into the Chasm, wasting my points, and then drag me to buy new ones), and to get my ears pierced. After depositing my shopping bags into my new apartment that's right next door to Eric's, I then remembered that my mother told me to go to the Erudite compound to talk to Caleb.

* * *

When I got to the Erudite compound, I stuck out like a sore thumb among the blue-clad Erudite members. I was wearing all black: a tight black tube dress that stopped at the middle of my thighs (Christina had gotten it for me as a congratulations gift after the rankings were revealed), black knee-high lace-up boots, and a black leather jacket. My hair wasn't piled up on the top of my head in a neat bun like the other girls at the Erudite compound, but falling past my shoulders in curls and waves. My tattoos and the piercings in my ears only made me even more distinct from the others.

I walked up to the front desk, ignoring all of the cold stares that I felt from the Erudite stuck-up. Not that Caleb was a stuck-up.

I stood there, tapping my black fingernails against the desk, since the snotty woman wasn't acknowledging my presence at all. I cleared my throat to get her attention, but it only earned me an eye roll. I finally slammed my hands down on the desk, emitting a loud _thud_. The woman's face finally turned, and her eyes finally met mine.

"What?" she asked sharply, glaring daggers at me. I didn't back down. I could see that she was trying to act tough and, well, _Dauntless-like_, but it wasn't really working.

"Caleb Prior," I said. "Where is he?"

"Why should I tell _you_? You're probably one of of the lowest members of Dauntless there is."

My temper rose. Suddenly, all I saw was red. "Listen you little b-" She didn't have enough time to get the curse word out, since she heard a familar voice behind her.

"Beatrice?"

I whip around to see Caleb, staring at me in disbelief and disapproval.

"Caleb," I reply. "My name is Tris now, actually. Mom said-"

"How about we go somewhere more.." he looks around the room to see that some of the Erudite are staring curiously at us. "private."

* * *

"Mom visited you, but not me?" Caleb asked, his eyes slightly glazing over.

"She wanted to, but she couldn't. You know how things are between the Abnegation and the Erudite. Besides, she told me to send you her love."

He nodded glumly. "So what did you need to talk to me about so badly that you had to scare Mrs. Wenkelschnitzer?"

"Mrs. Wenkelschnitzer?" I asked, chuckling a little bit. "Who would marry _her_?" Caleb chuckled. "Anyways, Mom told me to tell you to study the simulation serum."

Caleb blinked blankly for a few seconds before furrowing his eyebrows. "But.. Why?"

I shrug. Caleb stands up and stretches while I look out in the horizon. The sun is setting.

"As much as I enjoyed your company this afternoon, I think you should start getting back, Tris."

I nod and we share an embrace.

We start walking in opposite directions. I'm almost out of the compound when I hear a feminine voice cry out, "_Why?! _Why won't you love me?"

I stop in my tracks, and look over to the girl. To my surprise, she's talking to Caleb. The girl has long blonde hair and blue eyes. She looks a lot like Jeanine Matthews.

"Jade―" Caleb is cut off with a shriek from Jade.

"No, Caleb! Tell me why!"

"Jade―" he repeats, but again, is cut off when Jade slaps him.

Furious, for the second time for the day at the same faction, I stop hiding in the corner and walk forward. Before Caleb or Jade can say anything, I slam Jade into the wall of a building and pin her.

"Tris.." I can hear my brother sigh in the background, but I choose to ignore him.

"Hi, Jade," I say, smiling at her.

"Wh- What?" she stutters.

"Listen up, blondie. No one yells at my brother. No one forces my brother to do something he doesn't want to. And no one," I pause, my eyes flickering over to Caleb, who is watching with wide eyes, "hurts my brother."

I move off of Jade and take a few steps back to watch her next move.

Her eyes dart from Caleb to me, back to Caleb, and then to me again.

"Fine. But if I don't get my happy ending, you don't get yours either," she hisses, and then walks off, and so does Caleb after waving at me.

When they're both gone and I'm alone, I whipser, "What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?"

* * *

The next morning, I wake up to the feel of his lips pressed against mine.

I pull away and groan. "Why are you waking me up? It's so early," I whine.

Eric chuckles. "Tris.. It's almost noon. Get up, I have to show you to your new office."

"What?"

"Remember? You're a Dauntless leader now." Eric raised his eyebrows.

I groan again and sit up. "Fine. Let me get ready first."

After showering, I get into a black leather skirt that stops a few inches above my knees, black combat boots, a black bustier with gold studs over the breast areas, and a black cardigan that's studded on the shoulders. I quickly throw on a black spiked peter pan collar necklace to draw attention away from my chest. I curl my hair, put on eyeliner, and I'm out of the bathroom.

Eric is lounging on my bed, staring up at the ceiling.

When he hears me enter the room, he looks at me and he sighs. "Now I'm going to probably have to fight off every single freaking guy that lays his eyes on you," he mutters.

I chuckle. "But I'll only have eyes for you," I whisper, and I peck him lightly on the lips. "Let's go."

* * *

"Tris?" Eric's head pops into my office and he motions me out of my office, and into his. "There's someone who wants to speak with you." He hands me the black phone from his desk, and I furrow my eyebrows at him, but he just shrugs.

"Hello?" I ask once I press the phone to my ear.

"Is this Beatrice Prior?" I hear a vaguely familiar feminine voice ask on the other line.

"Tris, actually."

"Tris. I'm Jeanine Matthews. I'm sure you've heard of me before."

I froze. My eyes meet Eric's for a second, and then I break eye contact. I clear my throat. "Uh, yeah. Yes. Can I help you with something?"

"So you're the girl who hurt my daughter yesterday." Her voice dripped with menace. "If my daughter doesn't get her happy ending, you don't either. Tell your Caleb to at least _pretend_ to be in love with my dearest Jade, or you'll regret ever butting into my daughter's business. Don't think that I've never heard of your relationship with Eric, dear. So here's the deal: you tell Caleb to pretend to be in love with Jade, and I'll leave Eric alone. I hope you follow through, Ms. Prior, or there will be consequences."

I press my lips together as I set the phone down.

"Tris? Are you okay?" Eric walks towards me, concern etching his face.

"I'm fine," I say, my voice barely a whisper. "Perfectly fine."

As the day passes on, I ask myself the same question over and over again.

Do I throw away Caleb's freedom and happiness or do I let Jeanine hurt Eric?

* * *

**Sorry if it sucks. Review please. c: **

**It will make me happy.**

**Very happy.**

**Very very happy indeed.**


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